This three-volume work on dance history describes dance from its origins through the court fêtes of Louis XIV. Volume one stresses the importance of studying the theories of all the arts and covers the dance history of numerous ancient civilizations including Greek, Roman, Turkish, and Egyptian. Volume two describes the renaissance of the arts and the origins of ballet to 1610. Volume three focuses on dance in the court of Henri IV and the establishment of French opera. Cahusac borrows heavily from other writers, especially Philippe Quinault. Although by twentieth-century scholastic standards, Cahusac's interpretations may be problematic, the work formed the foundation for much of the writing on dance history until the twentieth century.

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